~Chloe~

The bus arrives a few minutes later, and as we board, I can't help but notice Max is limping a little more than usual. But then again, I guess that's normal… this is the most she walked around since the accident.

*Sigh* The accident.

I still feel responsible for causing the crash, for causing Max to almost lose her life.

As we sit in the back of the bus, watching the world roll by, she puts her hand on my lap.

"It's not your fault, Chloe," she whispers.

I turn to her with a slightly confused expression.

Seriously… do her powers include mind reading?

I don't know how, but... she can always tell what's on my mind.

"I know," I reply.

"Do you?" she asks softly, keeping her head resting against my chest.

I sigh and nod reassuringly, "Yeah… I do".

The accident may have not been my fault, but… my actions triggered it, or something.

Max cuddles up closer to me and sighs, "Thank you… for tonight, I mean. I know it didn't go exactly as planned but, thank you. Just thank you".

I chuckle a bit a worm my arm around her waist, pulling her even closer, "Well, it was my pleasure madam".

She giggles and rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me with those beautiful blue eyes.

"I love you, Chloe Price".

I smile and lean in, pressing our foreheads together, "And I love you, Maxine Caulfield".

She giggles again, her warm breath spreading over my chest.

I shiver.

"You know… as much as I hate that name, I don't mind it as much when you say it. You make it sound pretty".

"Well, that's because it is! Max or Maxine, you are fucking beautiful, Caulfield".

"And you're a complete and hopeless romantic" she replies, giving me a light kiss on the nose.

I snicker a bit, "You're damn right I am. I am in love with the fact that I am in love with you,".

Max smiles dumbly at me and closes her eyes, snuggling up into my chest. "I love you, you dork".

"I love you too".

I kiss her forehead, holding there for a few seconds before pulling away.

We sit pressed up against each other until the bus rolls to a stop in front of our building.

We hop of the bus and stumble up the stairs to our apartment, acting in a complete love-drunk manner.

On the way up we run into one of our neighbors who smiles when she sees us.

"Hola, Max, Hola, Chloe".

"Hey, Ms. Martínez" I say, pausing for a moment to greet her.

Max waves shyly at her, "Hi".

Mrs. Martinez looks us up and down and claps her hands joyfully, "Mira qué tiernos son ustedes dos. ¿Tuviste una linda cita?".

"Uh… si, gracias," I say in slightly broken Spanish, "Fue una buena noche".

Ms. Martinez smiles again, walking up and giving my cheek a light pinch, "Estoy tan contento de escuchar eso. Bueno, los dejaré a ustedes dos ser ahora. cuídate y disfruta el resto de tu Noche. ¡adiós!".

We both smile and watch as she brushes past us, disappearing down the next flight of stairs.

Max looks up at me and smirk a little, "So… what'd she say?".

"She said we looked cute, I think… and uh, something about our date. The rest is beyond me…".

Max giggles and tug at my arm, gesturing for me to continue our way upstairs, "I didn't know you spoke Spanish,".

"Eh, neither did I. I guess the little I learned in high school stuck around" I say, fishing my keys out of my pocket, "All I know is how to ask for the bathroom, a few key phrases and some really bad pickup lines".

"Oh, is that so? Well seniora Price, why don't you woo me with that Spanish charm?".

"Very Well, Caulfield," I say with a sly smile as I push the door open and shuffle inside, leaning up against the door once I close it.

"Tus ojos son azules, como el océano. Y cariño, estoy perdido en el mar,".

She blushes even though I know she has no idea what I just said.

"W- what does that mean?".

I smile stupidly, "That's for me to know… and you to find out".

She scoffs and punches my shoulder, "Chlo, what's it mean?".

I smile again and reach out, pulling Max a little closer, resting our foreheads together again.

"Your eyes are blue, like the ocean. And honey, I'm lost at sea,".

Her face goes beet red and I smile, placing soft kisses on her cheeks and neck.

"Tell me more".

"Tú eres mi amor, mi vida, mi todo. no soy nada sin ti,".

Max whimpers with pleasure as I continue to kiss her, dropping her hands to my sides and sliding them behind my jacket, pulling me closer to her small body, "And what does that mean?".

I hum and nuzzle my face into the crook of her neck, continuing to kiss her warm skin, "It means that You are my love, my life, my all. And I am nothing without you".

Max sighs breathily and pulls away, looking up at me with those ocean blue eyes, "I love you so much, Chloe" she whispers.

"I love you more than life itself," I admit, giving her a soft, loving kiss on the lips.

She hums with pure pleasure, deepening our kiss as it grows hungrier and hungrier.

I can't help but let out a small moan when Max pulls away, biting my lower lip.

I search her face for a moment, seeing an expression I can only describe as devilish.

I blush hard.

"Room?".

She nods, "Room".

I snicker a bit and pick Max up when she jumps up into my arms, returning to her onslaught of kisses.

I shuffle over to the room, gently laying Max down on the bed before basically ripping off my jacket.

"Are you sure about this" I ask, making sure she's actually up for this.

She nods timidly.

"Makeout and we'll see where things go," she says, making grabby hands at me.

I chuckle and jump back onto the bed with her.

Max grabs me by the shirt, pulling me even closer.

We giggle and continue to kiss, our breathing getting heavier and more labored.

Max whispers my name a few times, a smile gracing her lips.

I smile back, running my fingers through her beautiful hair. "I don't remember… did I tell you, you look hot in that dress?".

Max giggles, burying her face in my neck.

"Ha, well… it's going on sale tonight,".

I raise an eyebrow, "Oh, is that so?".

She nods and snickers a bit, "Yeah… in about 5 minutes, it's 100% off".

I snort and laugh out loud, falling over onto the bed.

"Hahaha! Oh my god… you… that's adorable!" I exclaim.

Max looks at me like I'm nuts and slaps my chest playfully, "You're an asshole! I'm trying to be flirty!".

I keep laughing, tears springing in my eyes, "I know, I'm sorry! I- it's just… y- you being flirty… I'm so not used to it! It's fucking adorable!".

"You suck, you totally killed the mood," She says, failing to hide the smile in her voice.

I watch as she pretends to storm off, but before she can gets too far, I grab her arm and pull her back on top of me.

We both snicker and kiss. "You're a dork…".

"I know," I reply, kissing her again.

"Why does it feel like whenever things get interesting between us, something happens to kill the mood?".

"I'm sorry if you feel that way," I say again, continuing with the kisses, "It'll happen when it happens".

She sighs and hums when I move my kisses to her jawline and neck, "I know… I just *sigh* I dunno- gah! I can't think with you doing that".

"Is... that a good thing?" I ask.

Max giggles and takes hold of my face, cradling it in her hands.

"A very good thing,".

We continue to kiss, returning to the hot and heavy state we were in moments ago.

The air is filled with soft breathing and light moans, Max whimpering with pleasure every so often.

Everything is calm and quiet… until it's not.

Suddenly a loud knock at the front door breaks us from our kiss induced trance.

"Who the fuck is that?" I growls softly, annoyed that the mood was killed… again.

"I dunno. If we're quiet maybe they'll go away," Max whispers, trying to return my attention to what we were doing.

I nod and try to get my zen back but it's no use.

The knocking continues, but this time it's followed by a click.

Max goes stiff under me.

"Did… did someone junt unlock the door?" She asks timidly.

I gesture for her to "shush" as we both hear soft footfalls echoing throughout the apartment.

"Max? Chloe? Anyone home?" A thankfully familiar voice says.

"Dad?" Max says, basically pushing me off of her.

We both get up and scramble over to the living room where we're met with a rather embarrassed looking Ryan Caulfield standing in front of us.

I look down at ourselves and realize what a disheveled state our clothes are in.

Oh, god.

"H- hey, Dad," Max says, smoothing her dress down and fixing her hair, "W- what are you doing here?".

"Um… I came by to drop off some stuff, buuut...methinks I came at a bad time,".

I swallow hard and nod, "You think?".

His face turns an even deeper red.

"A- anyways," Max said, looking at the box in her father's hands, "Is that all the stuff I asked for?".

He nods, thankful for the small distraction from our incredibly awkward situation, "Yes! And there's another box in the car… um, I'll go get it".

And with that, Ryan shoves the box in my hand and makes a beeline for the door.

We both watch and flinch slightly when the door slams closed.

"Remind me again why we gave him a key?" I say, turning to Max, who's buried her face in her hands.

"It was for emergencies, but I guess he thought it was a welcome invitation to drop by whenever he likes," she mutters, "And I totally forgot that I said he could drop some stuff off while we were out".

I nod and look down at the box in my hands, "So… what's in the box?".

Max rolls her eyes and I snicker.

"What's in the box?!" I say again, whining slightly.

"It's going to be your head if you don't shut up," she say says with a sarcastic sigh, "It's stuff from my room in Seattle. I asked my dad to pick some stuff up on his last trip over there. It just some special trinkets and stuff, mostly photos, journals… things like that,".

"Cool beans," I say, setting the taped up box down and pulling out my pocket knife, "Mind if I parooz through your past?".

She shrugs and comes up beside me, kissing my cheek softly.

"Go ahead. Just keep my Dad entertained when he comes back. I'm going to change out of this dress. My dad already thinks we've done the nasty,".

"Dude, you can say 'sex'. It's not like it's a bad word or anything".

She blushes and pulls away a bit, "I- I know, it just weird".

"You're weird. But that's why I love you. Now hurry up and dress, I wanna see your face when I read your diary," I say, grabbing a book titled "Diary".

Max leans in and quickly snatches the book, running off to the room.

"Nope! Not now, not yet. This is off limits to all Chloes," she laughs, locking the door behind her.

I giggle and turn back to the box, "Am I going to find old cringey selfies of a prepubescent Max Caulfield in here? Ooh, or even better. Pictures of you with that fugly ponytail".

Max laughs from the other side of the door, "Nope, that was the first thing to go the moment I touched down in Seattle. But, you may find some of me with braces,".

"Even better!" I say, pulling some books out and setting them out on the coffee table.

"You're a jerk sometimes, you know that?".

I snicker, "The company I keep. But seriously, you with braces equals adorbs".

"I doubt it," she replies, rustling around for a moment before pushing the door open, "They made me look like a big dorky idiot, but then again that seems to be your type".

"You're damn straight," I say, turning to see Max in one of my oversized t-shirts that fits like a baggy dress on her.

I smirk, "Thought you said you were gonna change?".

She sticks her tongue out at me and moves to the kitchen, "Shut up, it's the only thing I could find".

As I sort out a few more items from the box, Ryan returns with one hand covering his eyes.

"I- I'm coming in! ~Hope everyone's decent," he says, almost walking into the counter.

Max chuckles and takes the box from his hands, "It's okay, Dad. We weren't doing anything".

Sure we weren't… it wasn't like we were going to go to town or anything, I think to myself, watching a Ryan wipes his brow and sighs.

"So… I take it the dance went well?".

"It was fun… maybe a bit too much social interaction too soon but it was fun".

"Ditto," I say, watching as Max brings the box over to me.

"Well, you never were much of a social butterfly, Max" the man says, "But it's nice to see you try to put yourself out there a little more,".

I note that Max stiffens up a little at the mere mention of a butterfly, but I place my hand over the hand that's still on the box and look up at her, mouthing, "You're okay".

She smiles a bit. "Anyways, I'll leave you two be now. I'll call you in the morning, Okay?".

Max and I nod and slowly move our hands away from each other.

"Okay. We'll see you then, pops," Max says, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah… catch you on the flipside, Ryan," I say awkwardly, watching as he comes up and kisses Max on the head before leaving through the door.

Once he's gone, we both remain quiet, the only sound to be heard is that of a ticking clock.

"Butterfly, Max? Seriously?" I ask, looking up at her.

She crosses her arms and hugs herself with an unsteady sigh.

"It's not funny,".

I continue to look at her, my expression growing more concerned.

"I'm not laughing,".

I know Max has certain triggers… we both do, but it gets really worrying when said triggers are so simple.

"I just… *sigh* let's just look through this stuff and go to bed. I- I don't really want to talk about my stupid triggers right now," Max says, slowly kneeling down beside me.

I give her one last patient smile before giving in and ripping open the other box.

Most of the items within are photo albums filled with pictures, most of which are of scenery and buildings.

There are some of Max with two people I've never seen before, and when I ask who they are, Max's default reply is "It doesn't matter".

It's weird that she doesn't talk much about her social life in Seattle (not that she had much of one) but I do know she had at least a few close friends to keep her company.

I sigh and absently reach into the box again, pulling out a small stack of about 4 faded letters that bring a smile straight to my face.

"Heh, holy shit dude! Are these the letters you were telling me about?" I ask, pilfering through the stack.

Just as I pull off the rubber band holding everything together, Max snatches it out of my hand and holds it tightly against her chest.

"Hey, gimme that!".

I blink, somewhat confused, "Uh… isn't that my line? And also, what the fuck?".

She blushes and releases her death grip on the letters.

"I… s- sorry. It's just.. T- there's a lot of stuff I wrote that…".

She lets her voice trail off before looking down in something that's close to shame.

I hear her sniffle a little before handing me the stack with shaky hands.

"I'm sorry,".

I give her a confused look watching as she pulls her knees to her chest.

"Max, are you-".

"Just open it, Chloe," Max snaps softly, "Just open it".

I comply after a moment of watching my girlfriend seemingly try to shrink herself back, making herself look 10x smaller than she actually is.

The oldest letter dates all the way back to a few weeks after Max stopped messaging me back.

"Are these the letters your mom was talking about?" I ask, looking over at her.

But Max doesn't hear me.

She's full-on rocking herself in place, tiny hiccups floating in the air around her.

I scoot closer and wrap my arm around her shoulder, "Max, if it's something you don't want me to read… I won't read it,".

She lifts her head up and shakes it vigorously.

"No! I- I want you to see it… I- I need you to see it, I- I… I…".

And then she's gone again, dissolving into a puddle of tears.

I keep my arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so she's curled herself up against my chest.

I feel her warm tears soak through my shirt, so I pull her closer. Staring down at the letters in my hand.

This is it, Chloe… now you don't have to wonder what she was thinking when she decided to abandon you. She didn't abandon me, I protest in my head, she never forgot about me… never, ever.

She kept her promise.

She came back and she's here and she's never leaving.

With a small sigh, I place a soft kiss on Max's head and get to my feet, causing her to grip onto my shirt more tightly.

But her grip doesn't last and she whimpers a small bit as I move farther away.

"C- Chloe? Where… what are you doing?" she asks, watching as I wander into the kitchen.

I don't reply, not that I really need to, Max can see exactly what I'm doing.

I stand over the trash can for a moment before dropping the stack of letters inside.

"I-... I don't want to know what you said, Maxie. At this point… it doesn't really matter".

Her eyes grow wide as she scrambles to her feet and tries to retrieve the discarded letters.

"No, No! You have to read them, you have to know that I didn't want to abandon you! I need you to not hate me for this anymore!" she cries.

I hold her back when she tries to squeeze past me and pull her into a tight hug.

"Max, I… I don't hate you for that. I know you didn't purposely try to screw me over! When you first came back, I basically willed myself to hate you because there wasn't a single Max hating bone in my body. I never hated you… I may have acted like it but I never hated you, I couldn't even if I wanted to".

Max just shakes her head and continues to try to push past me, "Please, please, please… do it for me… I need you to know".

I sigh and hold her even tighter, pulling her head to rest right over my heart.

"Max…. I just. It's going to open up a lotta old wounds, wounds that have just barely healed. I really don't think it's a good idea to reopen them".

Max whimpers again, sounding so sad and pitiful it nearly breaks my heart.

But I stay strong.

"Please, Chloe… I need you to not be upset at me anymore".

"I'm not upset," I say, smoothing her hair back, "I'm not upset, okay?".

"I just.. I don't understand! How are you so okay with everything I've done. You should hate me! Look at all the things I took away from you!" Max blurts, sobbing even harder now.

"You know why I'm so okay with all the bullshit that's happened?" I ask, pulling her away for a moment.

She looks up at me and blinks, eyes red and make-up running.

"I'm okay with it because I love you, and nothing you do could even make me hate you".

She shakes her head again, tears continuing to fall.

"I don't understand, Chloe… I don't understand".

"You don't have to understand," I say, softly brushing her tears away with the pads of my thumbs, "You just need to know that I love you, forever and always, and till the end of time".

I lean in carefully and press a tender kiss on Max's lips, feeling her completely relax under my touch.

I pull away when her whimpers settle and are replaced with a small shaky sigh.

I rest my hand on the side of her face, brushing stray hairs behind her ear.

"You okay now?".

She nods and takes another small breath leaning heavily into my chest, "Till the end of time?".

I nod and press a firm kiss on her head, "Till the end of time".

Translations:

Mira qué tiernos son ustedes dos. ¿Tuviste una linda cita? = "Look how cute you two are. Did you have a nice date?"

Fue una buena noche = "It was a good night"

Estoy tan contento de escuchar eso. Bueno, los dejaré a ustedes dos ser ahora. cuídate y disfruta el resto de tu Noche. ¡adiós! = I'm so happy to hear that. Well, I'll let you two be now. take care and enjoy the rest of your night. bye!

I really hope I got this right. Please let me know if I misspelled anything